Friday I’m In Love

Wow! It’s Friday already!  Here’s what I’m loving this week 🙂  Be sure to check out what my companion Lovers are up to!

Kendra, Misha, Mary Beth, Amanda, Aileen

#1

Our Grace family!  Last weekend our small group (that’s not so small) had a bowling get together in Winter Garden.  We had SO MUCH FUN!  I even beat Britton in two rounds (not that I’m at all competitive)!

#2

Working again. For anyone thats been keeping track, the year of 2015 has been an interesting one to say the least.  I started a new job on Monday with the Central Florida STEM Education Council as their coordinator.  I am the first full time employee as the council is made up of a volunteer board of directors.  So far it has been a great learning experience and I know that will continue to be the case.  I’ll be working from home which is also amazing!  Hopefully a post about our updated office will be in the works here soon!

#3

Adjectives Market.  Have you been yet? I headed over that way yesterday with my neighbor and her mom.  I could live in that place!  We’ve been wanting to redo some furniture in our living room with chalk paint and as far as I can tell that’s one of the only places you can buy it.  So I was super excited to get over there and bought my paint and a new dish to add to a new collection (shocking I know).

#4

Renegades. Not only is the song amazing (you’ve heard it in the Jeep Renegade commercial) but its also INSPIRING.  If you watch the video, you will think you are watching an add.  It’s not.  Chart your own path, no matter what life has dealt you, you can overcome.  Be a renegade.

you, me and karl the fog

Back to our travel log.  Britton and decided to extend our vacation after Tahoe and check out the sites and sounds of San Francisco.  On our way there we decided to take a pit stop outside the city and stay a night in San Rafael.  We drove for 3+ hours and couldn’t wait to see what Muir Woods had in store for us.  As we got close to Muir Woods so did the fog, karl the fog that is.  It made me nervous 1. because the winding roads that lead to the national park was mostly covered in a dense fog and 2. I was afraid it would make for a gloomy experience in Muir Woods.  Regarding point #1, it was terrifying so my nervousness was completely warranted.  I think I kept my eyes closed while britton navigated the switchbacks.  Regarding point #2, no need to worry. Our walk through the forest of unbelievably tall trees was AMAZING! I could share my hundred photos with you but that would make this post incredibly long so I will refrain for your sake.

Following the woods, we made our way to the Muir Beach.  It was overcast but there were still plenty of people out there enjoying the sound of the waves along the rocky shoreline.  It really was beautiful!

The next morning we were up early and ready to make our way into the city.  We had to drive all the way down to the airport to drop off our car before we could explore the city.  It was the only time we crossed the golden gate bridge and sadly, karl was there as well.

Once we made it to the airport and back to the hotel we set out to conquer my to do list which was extensive.  We started out at pier 39 and I wanted to say hello to those friendly sea lions!

We stopped at Boudin’s for lunch as it was highly recommended.  The grilled cheese was FANTASTIC!

Next on the list was a jaunt over to Lombard Street which was absolutely packed with tourists.  I knew it would be busy but whatever route we took to get there was almost completely people-less so I was shocked when we got there.  It was so pretty though with the hydrangeas blooming in front of every house.  I would NOT want to live there but it was quite beautiful!

Next, we realized we were not dressed for the weather as I was expecting it to be much cooler so we made the trek back to our hotel so we could freshen up, relax our feet and change into some more comfortable clothing.  On our way there we walked through Chinatown and stopped in a few shops.

After we had cooled off a bit we headed back towards the pier as I was desperate to check out the Ferry Building Marketplace. OMG. I was in love. Can I just live in this market forever?  Food, wine, shops. It was perfection!

After the market we decided to take a serious walk up to a bakery that I had seen on a list of “things to eat before you die” and we were going to enjoy the Russian Honey Cake from 20th Century Cafe.  The place was perfect.  Another moment where I was just like “can I live in this bakery forever?”

We headed back to the hotel after our late afternoon snack to rest up before dinner.  I had made reservations months ago at a place called Wayfare Tavern.  The restaurant had an old timey, upper class, southern feel and the food was right on par.  It was delicious.  I ordered the fried chicken and we shared sides of creamed corn (with popcorn on top!) and potatoes.  The meal was decadent and we never could have finished it without having to be rolled out of the restaurant!  But it was amazing and if I’m ever back in San Francisco I know I will be going back!

OMG this post is already 663 words long and I’ve included WAY too many photos!  I think the second half of this trip will have to wait for another day 🙂  Hope you’ve enjoyed being on our journey in San Fransisco, I know I’ve enjoyed reliving it!

Friday I’m In Love

Happy Friday friends! I had the best intentions this week to get another post out but somehow the week just got away from me!  So here are this week’s loves

#1

My Delta Zeta women.  Last weekend I had the pleasure of spending the weekend with some of my DZ sisters in Amelia Island.  It was awesome to spend some times with my little family and meet some other amazing women, most of whom were out of college when I started.  I am definitely looking forward to these trips happening more frequently in the future!

#2

Craft night with my mom.  A few months back we decided to start monthly sewing lessons.  The first “sewing” lesson last month turned into an essential oils party.  This one turned into a FSU wreath making party.  Next month we may get around to sewing but so far we’ve had a lot of fun!

#3

Girls day at the park.  Today actually I had the great pleasure of joining two friends from church at Wekiwa State Springs Park for a morning kayak trip.  We had so much fun!  Last weekend a woman got her arm bit off by a gator so we were all a bit nervous.  But today we heard the gators and their low grunts in the distance but failed to come across any on our kayaks!

#4

At craft night I played this song for my mom.  She was telling me about a friendship in her life and this song just spoke to me.  I love them!

I had an awesome week spending so much time with so many women in my life!  I feel blessed to be surrounded by so many awesome people!  Speaking of awesome ladies, check out these women and what their crushing on this week 🙂

Kendra, Misha, Mary Beth, Amanda, Aileen

Friday I’m In Love

Hi friends!  This has been a super slow week for me as I am currently between jobs.  My week has been somewhat uneventful but good nonetheless.

#1

Last Sunday our church did their annual Night of Worship.  Our church is one church in many communities.  It was a great night worshiping with the community and connecting with church members from all over Central Florida.

#2

Since I’ve been taking care of things at home I’ve had a lot of time with my baby, Foster.  He’s always on my in love list but this week is special since we’ve spent a lot of time together.

#3

I absolutely love where we live.  I’ve had so much time this week that I’ve gone on a walk or two weekly with Foster.  I love everything about where we live, our neighborhood, Winter Garden and it’s quaint downtown, our neighbors, our church!  It’s all exactly what we were looking for when we moved down here!

#4

Last week I posted a video from George Ezra.  I’m pulling a repeat this week because I like him so much.  And this week’s theirs a guest appearance from Ian McKellan.  I love this song and this video!

What are you loving this week?  Be sure to check out these fellow Friday I’m In Lovers!

Kendra, Misha, Mary Beth, Amanda, Aileen

walls take tahoe

This summer we took a Wall family vacation with Brittons family.  We chose Lake Tahoe and rented a house on the north west side of the lake.  As a family we decided that each couple would plan a day of the trip because no one ever likes to make a decision so leaving activities to the last minute would leave us all pretty paralyzed!

Britton and I went after work (my last day at my job before beginning a new one) and made it to the lake at about midnight.  It was a long day for us but so worth the trip! Check out that view first thing in the morning!

Day 1 was Janet and Greg’s day and they decided to rent a boat.  We took the boat around the west side of the lake towards Emerald Bay.  The crystal clear water in the lake was so blue it made me feel like we were in the ocean!  So gorgeous!  Emerald Bay was probably my favorite spot on all of Lake Tahoe and we saw it from every angle.  Once we stopped in Emerald Bay, the boys were adventurous and decided to swim from the boat to an island in the middle.  The water in Lake Tahoe is somewhere between 60 and 70 degrees F and it was pretty dang cold that day.  When my two sister in laws decided to join them I hesitated but decided at the last minute that I couldn’t miss out on this adventure.  Once we made it to the rocky shore we came up with our motto for the week, say yes to adventure!

Day 2 was Megan and Jordan’s day and they made tee times at Squaw Creek for late in the afternoon.  That left us with some exploring time that morning!  Jordan, Megan, Britton and I went for an awesome walk through the neighborhood before joining the rest of the family for breakfast in town.  On any open lot there were signs stating that we were on national park land.  HUGE trees towered above us and some had fallen or been chopped down.

Golf was beautiful as we climbed through the mountains for a few of the holes.  I didn’t play but the ladies stuck together and I was the official photographer.  As the sun went down we all got cold and by hole 15 I think we were all ready to be done!  Gorgeous day!

Dat 3 was for Ciana and Jeff to plan and they took us on a real adventure along the Rubicon Trail.  The hike was a path along Lake Tahoe’s south west shore line, mountains and all.  The beginning of the hike was the most steep section of the whole hike.  We walked over 7 miles that day through the mountainous terrain and time and time again saw the breathtaking views of Lake Tahoe.  The water on the lake is so amazing.  You would think we were someplace on the shores of the pacific ocean.  The water is blue and more clear than any water I have seen ever.

At the end of the hike we landed at the Vikingsholm house.  We took the tour and were amazed at the construction and the history of the area.  Check it out on their website!Day 4 was finally our turn to plan the day!  We had a great day planned to go kayaking on the east side of the lake.  We woke up early and headed toward that side of the lake which took about 45 minutes.  When we arrived we discovered they had cancelled all kayaking and water sports for the day due to HIGH WINDS! WHAT?! How did this happen.  Our backup plan was to drive south to a hot springs that turned out to be less cool than we had hoped.  We didn’t even get any good photos of the sketchy-ness that was Grover Hot Springs.

The redeeming factor for our day was that we had an opportunity to drive around the south side of the lake and made some great dinner reservations at an awesome restaurant.  We even got a family photo!

The following day the eight of us went separate ways heading home to families and kids.  Britton and I extended the trip and headed west to San Francisco but more on that another day.  What a great family vacation!

Friday I’m In Love

Last week I was on vacation in California.  I’ve got a LOT to share on that amazing trip.  So we will start with a snip it.

#1

Lake Tahoe. Go visit.  That’s all there is.

#2

Muir Woods.  We stopped by a little national forest called Muir Woods on our way to San Francisco last Wednesday.  The Redwoods in that forest were just amazing.  I would love to spend more time there and in more national forests across the nation with such amazing history and wildlife.

#3

Once we were back we were back at home we had to deal with a lovely broken AC and we called AC Guys.  THANK YOU!  They had a new unit in place within 48 hours of us being home.  What would we have done without them? It was up to 92% humidity in our house when we got home! WOW!

#4

Sherwin Williams Super paint. This was actually on my last Friday I’m In Love Post because its just that awesome.

Once the air was working again in the house I got to work painting the interior of our home.  We started a few weekends ago by painting the living room.  I can say now, I have painted the dining room, hallways, kitchen and most of our living spaces Languid Blue.  It took one coat of super paint to cover up our nasty brown walls.  Its a good feeling to see a job well done without spending days doing multiple coats of paints.

#5

Amazon Prime has the George Ezra album on prime and I’ve been listening to it and dancing to it while I paint the house this week. i LOVE him. Awesome music.

Be sure to check out some other Friday I’m In Love posts here

Kendra, Misha, Mary Beth, Amanda, Aileen

I’m already working on my travel post from our adventures last week so stay tuned for joining us on that amazing journey!

Laundry Room Remodel

The new house was built in 2003 and had a pretty basic and boring laundry room.  I would argue it was the most dysfunctional laundry room I’ve ever had and I’ve lived in a LOT of crappy apartments!  We also had to purchase a washer and dryer so it made sense that we would update the whole space.

I wanted to paint, hang shelves and hang a rack for hang dry.  We had picked a lovely shade of blue for britton’s office and it really was perfect for the laundry room as well.  We purchased a white washer/dryer set and with the blue paint it really made the white pop.

We got kitchen cabinets to hang in the space to create more storage for this lackluster laundry room and britton did all the hanging.  We also got a bar to go under the shorter cabinet to increase our space for hanging.  We also hung this rack from ikea opposite the washer and dryer.

The laundry room was also where we store our pet food and it was becoming a hastle to have two storage containers just sitting on the floor.  Luckily, ikea also has interesting storage options for shoes.  I took that idea and turned it into a hanging food storage cabinet.  Perfect!

We love how our laundry room turned out.  So much storage for such a small space!

What laundry room hacks have you tried?